1859 United Kingdom general election

28 April – 18 May 1859 (1859-04-28 – 1859-05-18)
All 654 seats in the House of Commons 328 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Viscount Palmerston Earl of Derby Party Liberal Conservative Leader since 6 February 1855 July 1846 Leader's seat Tiverton House of Lords Last election 377 seats, 64.8% 264 seats, 33.5% Seats won 356 298 Seat change 21 34 Popular vote 372,117 193,232 Percentage 65.8% 34.2% Swing 1.0% 0.7%
Colours denote the winning party—as shown in § Results
Prime Minister before election Earl of Derby Conservative Prime Minister after election Viscount Palmerston Whig

The 1859 United Kingdom general election returned no party to a majority of seats in the House of Commons. The Earl of Derby's Conservatives formed a minority government. but despite having made small overall gains in the election, Derby's government was defeated in a confidence vote by an alliance of Palmerston's Whigs together with Peelites, Radicals, and the Irish Brigade. Palmerston subsequently formed a new government from this alliance which is now considered to be the first Liberal Party administration.

There is no separate tally of votes or seats for the Peelites. They did not contest elections as an organised party but more as independent Free trade Conservatives with varying degrees of distance from the two main parties.

It was also the last general election entered by the Chartists, before their organisation was dissolved. As of 2024, this is the last election in which the Conservatives won the most seats in Wales,^[1] as well as being the last election to date in which the Conservative Party took less than a third of the vote in England.

The election was the quietest and least competitive between 1832 and 1885, with most county elections being uncontested. The election also saw the lowest number of candidates between 1832 and 1885, with Tory gains potentially being the result of a lack of opposition as much as a change in public opinion.^[2] According to A.J.P. Taylor:

the government which Palmerston organized in June 1859 was a coalition of a different kind: not a coalition of groups which looked back to the past, but a coalition which anticipated the future. Had it not been for Palmerston himself—too individual, too full of personality to be fitted into a party-pattern—it would have been the first Liberal government in our history. Everything that was important in it was Liberal—finance, administrative reform, its very composition: the first government with unmistakable middle-class Free Traders as members.^[3]

Results

Regional results

Great Britain

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Liberal	392	157	306		314,708	66.6
	Conservative & Peelites	327	160	245		157,974	33.4
	Chartist	1	0	0		151	0.0
Total		720	317	551		472,833	100

England

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Liberal	330	109	251		307,949	67.1
	Conservative & Peelite	286	129	209		152,591	32.9
	Chartist	1	0	0		151	0.0
Total		617	238	460		460,691	100

Scotland

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Liberal	44	34	40		5,174	66.4
	Conservative & Peelite	17	11	13		2,616	33.6
Total		61	45	53		7,790	100

Wales

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Conservative & Peelite	18	14	17		2,767	63.6
	Liberal	18	14	15		1,585	36.4
Total		36	28	32		4,352	100

Ireland

Main article: 1859 United Kingdom general election in Ireland

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Irish Conservative & Peelite	67	36	53		35,258	38.9
	Liberal	73	26	50		57,409	61.1
Total		140	62	103		92,667	100

Universities

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Conservative & Peelite	6	6	6
Total		6	6	6			100

See also

• List of MPs elected in the 1859 United Kingdom general election
• 1859 United Kingdom general election in Ireland

References

External links

• Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results